Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) closed higher Friday following speculation that the casino operator might pay out a special dividend this month.

Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg said today that it would advance founder Sheldon Adelson's goal of returning more cash to shareholders. With it latest report, Sands said it had about $2.5 billion in cash on the books.

Sands last paid a $2.75 per share special dividend last December, unloading $3.09 billion back to shareholders in total. The special dividend likely came as many were still uncertain about what sort of impact the fiscal cliff would have on dividend tax rates.

Speculation wasn't available on what sort of amount the special dividend would be. Another $2.75 per share distribution would yield about 5 percent following Sands' 20 percent-plus rise in 2013. By comparison, the S&O 500 has advanced about 11 percent over the same period.

Shares of Sands are down modestly after closing Friday up 1.9 percent.